Interviews: Jason Moran and Bobby Zankel on Muhal Richard Abrams

Here's a cool interview with pianist/composer Jason Moran talking about legendary pianist/composer Muhal Richard Abrams. The part about Mr. Moran’s composition lessons with Mr. Abrams sure reminded me of “Week Four” from my lessons with Dennis Sandole (I'll have to post some of that stuff soon). Very interesting.

The Philly ensemble with whom I have the pleasure to play, Bobby Zankel and the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound have begun rehearsing with Mr. Abrams. We will be performing some brand new music of Mr. Abrams' in concert at Montgomery County Community College on April 28, 2012.

Here is the Jason Moran video:

And here is a Bobby Zankel interview in which he discusses his personal history, including this upcoming concert with Muhal Richard Abrams:

Video: Stevie Wonder

Wow! Check out this Stevie Wonder set from a German TV show back in 1974. Interesting things about this video recording: Stevie plays all of these tunes in almost a suite-like fashion (maybe due to the time constraints of the show?); this performance was taped not long after Stevie had been in a bad car accident (no, he wasn't driving!!) and had been left in a coma for four days; check out this crazy version of "Contusion" - recorded a year and a half before the release of "Songs in the Key of Life." All in all, this set is kinda rough around the edges. But this rawness makes it so, so real and alive. And the band is sick!

Stevie Wonder = Force of Nature.

Artist Spotlight: The Genius of Lenny Breau

Ever since I was a kid I’ve always been a fan of the guitar and of guitar players. Even though I am a trumpet player, maybe secretly, or now, not so secretly, I’ve always wished that I could play guitar (I’ve tried to play it a few times but I give up quickly as my fingers start to hurt). If you think about it, the guitar might be the most versatile of instruments. In the right hands guitar can be the vehicle for pretty much any kind of music – classical, rock, jazz, flamenco, blues, avant-garde improvised music, country, American folk music, folk music from pretty any culture around the world. And guitars are portable and pretty cheap. Maybe because of this, guitarists of all levels of mediocre are ubiquitous. But out of this sea of dime-a-dozeness, rises some really great players. Every town has them, smoking rock players, or burning jazz players. But every once in a while there is a guitarist who really transcends the instrument, transcends styles and genres. These guitarists are freaks. And I mean that in a good way, the best way. Lenny Breau was a freak.

I was first introduced to Lenny Breau’s playing about eight or nine years ago. My guitar-playing buddy Richard Somerville said “Hey man, you really should check out this cat, Lenny Breau. You would really dig him.” Richard loaned me “The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau.” I was blown away, to say the least. This guy was playing everything, literally everything there was to play on the guitar. Jazz, swing, country, Indian-inspired raga, flamenco, classical playing that would make Segovia smile. And the music sounded so good, not forced considering all of the styles that he played. It was smooth and personal and intimate music. And when it wanted to, it swung its ass off. I was hooked. I love finding new guitar players to check out. Lenny was my new guy. His music was hard to find though. I was on a journey.

I spent the next few years occasionally looking for Breau records. Nowhere to be found in the used record shops. I finally got a hold of the 1968 album “Guitar Sounds of Lenny Breau” – the first Breau major label record (RCA), “The Velvet Touch” from 1969 being the follow-up (on a side note: guitar legend Chet Atkins, an early influence on Breau, is the one who brought Lenny to RCA and supervised the making of these two albums. Chet became Lenny’s lifelong friend, mentor, and champion). “Guitar Sounds” had some great covers on it: Ray Charles, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elizabeth Cotton (“Freight Train” – yes! Watch this!), Hank Williams, but only one original “Taranta.” “Velvet Touch” allows for more originals, and they are all good and. From these two records it was so clear to me that Lenny Breau was an artist, a master musician who could interpret other composer’s material as well as compose his own. But after these two records there was nothing. Nothing really for more than ten years, and even then those late Breau recordings, though they show some absolute brilliance, they can be uneven and thus never wholly live up to his promise. Why? What happened?

The story of Lenny Breau is another one of those tragic artist stories – greatness silenced by the perils of addiction. In 2006, a new biography about Lenny Breau was published: “One Long Tune: The Life and Music of Lenny Breau” by Ron Forbes-Roberts (Univ. N. Texas Press). I took this book out of my library and tore through it. Lenny was a fascinating guy, troubled, talented, and a total mess. Reading between the lines, the guy was messed up, emotionally stunted by a showbiz childhood – his parents were country music performers (from Maine [!] and then Canada) and their son Lenny was a child prodigy. Breau’s story reminds me, in a way, of Bix Beiderbecke’s: a super-talented artist pushing himself to achieve virtuosity just to show his parents (in Breau’s case it was his father) that he had made something of himself, had achieved greatness with his music, only to be completely crushed by the parents not acknowledging those achievements and talents. Bix drank to push those feelings away. Lenny drank and did every drug he could get his hands on. Lenny was a good-looking guy when he was young; he was, by all accounts, a really nice guy who was obsessed with guitar and music.

 But maybe due to the nomadic nature of his childhood, Lenny never really grew up. He never learned the life skills to be able to function as an independent adult. His whole life was wrapped up in the guitar and in making music. His looks and his abilities should have made him a star. But his career never really took off. Instead, his career was a series of hopes and crashes. Whenever it seemed like things were going to take a turn for the better, like things were really going to happen this time, Lenny would screw it up, showing up high or drunk, or not showing up at all. So many people took chances (and spent money) on Lenny – he was basically a sweetheart of a guy and he could play guitar like no one who ever lived so everyone wanted success for him – but Lenny paid them back by failing. He should have been a household name. Instead, he’s a guy whose albums are really hard to find, and someone who is primarily remembered only by guitar players who are blown away by his finger-style and harmonics playing.

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a used copy of “The Hallmark Sessions” – a series of recordings, only first released in 2003, that Breau made in Canada with two friends – Rick Danko and Levon Helm (remember them from a little band called The Band! – did you know that those two could swing like that? I didn’t). Lenny Breau was only 20 (!!!) when he made these recordings back in 1961. Good Gravy! That’s just too much guitar for a kid that age to be playing. The crazy thing is, you can hear everything that he was to become. Sure there are moments of youthful over-playing, but there are also moments of shocking tenderness and maturity of phrase and touch. What a joy to hear these recordings. At a tender age, Lenny Breau was already an original and a true virtuoso. You can hear where he came from and where he was going. You can hear the love of jazz, the country music that is a part of his DNA, the interest in flamenco and classical forms, and you can hear how he was really stretching into the artist that he would become and maybe the true-to-himself artist he should have been – he might have been the greatest guitar player ever.

Lenny Breau died face down in a Los Angeles apartment building swimming pool. He was only 43. Signs point to his deranged wife as being his murderer but the case was never solved. If you are unfamiliar with the Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau, do yourself a favor and check out his music – it really is transcendent. And if you enjoy interesting biographies, specifically musician biographies, “One Long Tune” is an excellent read.

Check this out – YouTube scores again! Watching this film (made by Lenny’s daughter – an effort to make some sense of her father’s tragic life) again left me feeling truly sad but also grateful, inspired, and touched. Lenny really made an impact. He was a genius. And his music absolutely endures.

Part One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLD-BVVYDV4

Part Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV98gcW7X1I

Part Three: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya0Ax5-1VSI

Part Four: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8sT6rDPx1c

Part Five: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDyus44m1F4

Part Six: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLqBn7RGz3c

Part Seven: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYa5TlFJgTY

There’s more YouTube Lenny Breau out there. Check it out!

Lucky Old Souls Burger Truck

Just a quick post today and a friendly plug for an awesome local business.  If you are in the Philly area and you are at least somewhat hip to the local jazz scene then you surely know about Matt “Feldie” Feldman and his many-faceted enterprise: Lucky Old Souls. Feldie is a music lover, and a super knowledgeable music lover, at that. I was a big fan of his weekly GTown Radio show entitled Lucky Old Souls in which he spun an awesome mix of classic jazz, rhythm and blues, along with an infusion of newer and often local jazz. I learned a lot listening to those shows. And if you are a person who goes out to live local jazz shows then you surely know about Feldie’s monthly concert series at the Moonstone Arts Center. And maybe you’ve also heard that Feldie has been working on opening up a restaurant/jazz club in South Philly. Well, red tape and classic Philly bureaucracy have temporarily slowed down that process. Never one to wait around for things to just happen on their own though, Feldie has, for the past few months, been the proprietor of an amazing food truck. From the Lucky Old Souls website:

Lucky Old Souls brings joy to people through music and food.  Originally a jazz radio show and subsequently a monthly concert series, Lucky Old Souls is now also a burger truck serving delicious comfort food made with the best local and sustainably-produced ingredients.  Our "farm-to-truck" menu features grass-fed beef burgers, hand-cut fries, housemade bacon, housemade veggie burgers, seasonal local vegetables, made-from-scratch condiments, thick milkshakes, and all-natural artisanal sodas.

Most people don’t know this, but for years I’ve had a strange desire to have my own food truck (mine would sell bagels – good bagels, something which can be a rarity in Philly!). And over the years I’ve casually questioned some of the food truck proprietors that I’ve patronized. They all have told me that it is a LOT of work. But if someone can make it happen, and pull it off in style, it would be the enterprising – and uncompromising – Matt Feldman.

Well, I can’t believe that it took me this long, but today I finally had my first Lucky Old Souls burger (and milkshake). It was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.

I’m not a huge red meat eater anymore, but I do really enjoy a good burger – happens a few times a year. And over the years I’ve had plenty of really good burgers. This one was up there with the best - ever. Honestly, I was pretty blown away. My burger was the special: Lancaster County grass-fed beef (most ground beef in stores is from cows that are fed corn – cows aren’t designed to eat corn. It’s actually harmful to them. They are supposed to eat grass. And thus grass-fed beef just tastes better. It’s also way more humane), collard greens (yummy, a little sweet, a little salty, right amount of garlic), habañero cheddar (just a little bit of heat), homemade bacon (YES!), homemade mayo (yes!), on a really, really good bun. This is truck food at its very best. The items on this menu aren’t priced like a cheap lunch truck, but you certainly get what you pay for. The ingredients are top quality and local! I also had a milkshake today – the first one I’ve had in a long, long time. Sinfully delicious. Next time I will try the hand-cut fries.

This food is for real, people. As good as any burger joint anywhere. If you are in Philly, you owe it to yourself to check out the Lucky Old Souls truck. As Feldie’s site says “Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @LOSBurgerTruck”

And here’s the menu:

And did I mention that the Lucky Old Souls Truck plays music?? Today while I waited for my food and chatted with Feldie I heard the late great rapper Guru, Nina Simone, and Charlie Parker. That's pretty darn cool!

And one last thing, if you don’t know about Feldie’s Philly Jazz Calendar, then by all means check it out here. 

Listening: The New Maalouf

Short post today. The new Ibrahim Maalouf CD “Diagnostic” is straight-up awesome. I’ve written about Maalouf before here and here. Like his first two albums, “Diagnostic” is eclectic and meticulously recorded, mixed, and mastered. It sounds amazing. And Maalouf is clearly growing as an artist. He’s not a jazz player or a typical classical player. His music melds the classical and jazz influences along with the music associated with his Lebanese heritage as well as the global music amalgam of his current home, Paris. This is global music. World music. Maalouf is a monster trumpet player. And a real artist. Check out this tune “Beirut” from the new record. The video is pretty special in its own right. Hey, Mr. Maalouf, please come play in Philly. Or anywhere in the northeast part of the US.

Listening: Rain

It happens every time. Every time I hear this song I think to myself “This song is just unbelievably awesome.” Then I hear something new in the song. Something I’d never heard before even though I’ve heard this song hundreds of times before. “Rain” by The Beatles. It’s just so freaking good.

I played "Rain" this morning as I was packing the boys their school lunches. I can’t be in a bad mood “when the Rain comes.” I’m a Beatles freak and this tune is one of my all-time favorites. So why is it so good? There are just so many reasons. It’s a great song. Great song-writing. Great hooks, great transitions, great structure. And the recorded sound is just amazing. So up front and in your face.

According to engineer Geoff Emerick, the reason for this is that Rain (and it’s A-Side “Paperback Writer”) was the “first release to use a new device invented by the maintenance department at Abbey Road called "ATOC" for "Automatic Transient Overload Control". The new device allowed the record to be cut at a louder volume, louder than any other single up to that time.” The guitars have a clangy, sitar-meets-harpischord-ish sound that was all new for the band at the time. Ringo’s drums sound like they are being played right in front of you. And Paul is also super high in the mix on his new Rickenbacker. And what Paul and Ringo play on this track is just some of their best playing ever on record. Paul’s lines are simply ridiculous. Listen to just the bass on this track. He’s rhythm. He’s melody and counter-melody. He’s accompaniment. He’s forward motion. He controls this track. Listen to what he plays coming out of the choruses. What?!?! And Ringo contributes his greatest work to this track, I think. Ringo plays some of the weirdest fills in Rock and Roll and this track features his weirdest. It’s like he doesn’t even know what he’s doing. Like he’s discovering the instrument for the very first time. And I mean that in the best possible way. (I tell my drum-playing 11 year old son, Julian, all the time to listen to Ringo's fills. Simple, but perfect in their own strange way)

Another thing that makes “Rain” so important is that, to me, it helps to mark the monumental transition from the pop, bubble gum Beatles into the mature, even experimental Beatles. This track was recorded in April 1966 and released a few months before Revolver came out. Sure it came out after “Rubber Soul” which was the truly the first Beatles album to have some studio experimentation. But “Rain” was truly experimental: slowed down and sped up tape tracks, the revolutionary use of the ATOC, the new up-front Rickenbacker bass, and perhaps the most important innovation, the backwards Lennon vocal. Lennon claims credit for the idea:

“After we'd done the session on that particular song—it ended at about four or five in the morning—I went home with a tape to see what else you could do with it. And I was sort of very tired, you know, not knowing what I was doing, and I just happened to put it on my own tape recorder and it came out backwards. And I liked it better. So that's how it happened.”

Producer George Martin also claims credit:

“I was always playing around with tapes and I thought it might be fun to do something extra with John's voice. So I lifted a bit of his main vocal off the four-track, put it on another spool, turned it around and then slid it back and forth until it fitted. John was out at the time but when he came back he was amazed”

I don’t know who’s idea it really was, but who cares? The fact is they made history with this little piece of genius. Regardless of your feelings and opinions of the Beatles, this was serious innovation in the recording studio.

“Rain” marks a pivotal moment in recorded music. Plus it’s just a superbad track. Oh, and they also made a music video for it. Another first of sorts. And this video should also prove that Ringo was the coolest Beatle. Good Gravy this song is good!

Gigs

I’ve been a bit lax lately about posting my upcoming gigs on this blog (or lax about posting in general!). Because of that I never posted about two great recent shows I played. I never told you about the PhillyBloco Halloween show I played (photos here); and I never told you about the gig I did last week with guitarist Tim Motzer at Tritone. Both of those gigs were awesome in their own unique way. PhillyBloco gigs are always crazy fun parties (we’ll be at World Café Live for New Years Eve!) and playing with Tim gives me an opportunity to play my horn in a way that none of the other bands I play in do.

Even when I was a kid, just trying to learn the trumpet, I would always noodle around trying to make weird sounds on my horn. It wasn’t until I got into jazz and more avant garde musics during and after college that I realized that there was a whole history, a lineage, of trumpet players who had created unique, non-trumpet-sounding noises. Modern players (I won't even get into the old-school geniuses) like, Axel Dorner, Peter Evans, Dave Douglas, Cuong Vu, and Nate Wooley can get an amazing array of sounds out of the trumpet. Those guys can all play the horn straight too and can do it at a truly ridiculous, virtuosic level, especially Evans and Douglas. But there’s something about those strange sounds and the process of trying to figure out how they make those sounds that really fascinates me. And I think that I also have some sounds that I make that are sounds that I haven’t heard other trumpet players play. Besides making weird noises, I’m also slowly starting to get into the world of electronic effects. Recently I’ve been playing through a Digitech Whammy pedal,

a Boss Distortion pedal,and a Boss Loop station

– while adding some delay and/or reverb through my amp or PA. I’m also a sucker for a simple, pure melody line. Improvising with Tim Motzer gives me a unique opportunity to make all of those weird noises to my heart’s content, play through all of those effects, and also search for some beautiful melodies.

Tim is really a master of creating sound. He’s got a sick array of effects that he has truly mastered and incorporated into a sound that is only his. And he’s made a career out of this. No easy feat. He plays all over the world, collaborates with some amazing artists, records some magic in his studio, and improvises for dance classes at the University of the Arts in Philly. When we play, it’s always an improvisational experiment. Sometime we “compose” succinct songs and song forms on the spot. Other times, like at Tritone the other night, we create a set-long, ever-evolving soundscape. It’s always an adventure in listening and responding and conversing. For me it’s one of the most enjoyable music-making opportunities that I’m currently involved in.

Tomorrow night I will be playing with Tim as part of a really cool festival – music, dance, and super-cool visuals. Here are the details – if you are in the area and free, come check it out:

Cosmic Trigger - An Exploratorium of sound, light, and kinetics

Night Two of the Fall Experimental Music Festival at fidget space | Philadelphia.
10PM Saturday November 12, 2011

Cosmic Trigger: Tim Motzer and Dejha Ti collaborate to produce an immersive night of music, movement and interactivity exploration. The music, improvised by Tim Motzer (guitars, electronics, and laptop), both solo and in configurations of duo and trio with Bart Miltenberger (prepared trumpet and electronics), and Jim Hamilton (percussion) promises to be an evolution in soundscaping. The fidget space will be invaded by Dejha Ti’s unique blend of projections, real-time kinect visuals and modular set installations, while dancers Leanne Grieger and Zach Svoboda travel the “inner space” in search for meaning through their exploration of spacial stages and “trans-time dialogues”.  Art direction, set design with Erik Silverson, and cinematography, and lighting by Ahing Huang.